


Trustworthy

by catie_writes_things



Series: Trust Issues [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Secret Identity, in which marinette's life is complicated, remember when this was about adrien and his dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 02:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14760990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catie_writes_things/pseuds/catie_writes_things
Summary: Marinette always knew that it would cause problems if she knew Chat Noir's secret identity. She never would have guessed that Adrien Agreste eating breakfast at her kitchen table would be one of those problems.





	Trustworthy

They landed back at street level around the corner from Marinette’s house, and after double checking that the street was deserted, Chat Noir transformed back into Adrien. It was still weird for Ladybug to see that happen. His kwami whined some complaint about how many times they had changed back and forth this evening, but Adrien shushed him and ushered him back into his hiding place in his pocket.

 

Ladybug led the way as they walked up to the private entrance to the side of the bakery. She squared her shoulders and rang the doorbell. There was no answer at first, but that was to be expected at this odd hour. Sure enough, after a few minutes, both of her parents came to the door, very confused to see her. Well, Ladybug.

 

“Good evening, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng,” Ladybug said in her practiced superhero voice. “I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but I was hoping you could help me with something. You know Marinette’s friend Adrien, right?” She indicated the boy who stood to her side and a little behind.

 

Her parents looked at Adrien, who waved sheepishly, then back at her, still confused. “Is everything alright?” her mother asked. “Should we go get Marinette?”

 

“No!” Ladybug said a little too quickly. “I mean, you don’t have to wake her up.” Getting a hold of herself, she went on, “Adrien just needs a place to stay, for his own safety. I’ll be keeping an eye on him, too, but we thought it would be best if he stayed with a friend.”

 

“Well, of course,” her father replied. “We’d be happy to help any friend of Marinette’s.”

 

“Thank you,” Adrien spoke up at last. “I really appreciate it.”

 

Ladybug said her goodbyes and left Adrien in her parents’ care as she hurried up to the roof, jumped through the trapdoor into her room, and destrasformed. Tikki darted behind the computer on her desk, and Marinette had just thrown herself into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin when she heard the door from downstairs open. Sure enough, her mom had come to check on her after all. Marinette pretended to stir as if she had just been woken up, glad that she had already been wearing her pajamas when she had transformed into Ladybug earlier that evening.

 

“Marinette?” her mother said gently. “I’m sorry to wake you…”

 

“That’s alright,” Marinette replied as she sat up. “What’s going on? I thought I heard voices downstairs.” Some part of her, deep down, cringed at how easily the lies came these days, but it was all part of the superhero business.

 

“Ladybug was here,” her mother explained. “Your friend Adrien is going to stay with us for a while. Something about keeping him safe. I hope that’s okay with you?”

 

Marinette tried to look surprised. “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

 

Her mother patted her hand. “That’s good to hear.”

 

“Do you need my help with anything?” Marinette offered.

 

“No, your father’s getting him settled in the guest room. Don’t worry about anything.” Her mother leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Just go back to sleep, dear.”

 

Marinette lay back down. “Alright. Goodnight, Mom.” Her mother said goodnight as well, and finally left. Marinette rolled over and groaned softly into her pillow.

 

She felt Tikki land on her shoulder. “Your mother’s right, Marinette,” the kwami said softly. “You should sleep now.” And Marinette was exhausted enough that in spite of how her brain was still buzzing with the revelation that _Adrien was Chat Noir,_ she did.

 

* * *

 

When she woke up the next morning, Marinette could almost believe she had dreamed the previous night’s events, except that Adrien was sitting at her kitchen table, wearing one of her dad’s old t-shirts and a pair of her own gym shorts. That was just too bizarre, even for a product of her overactive imagination. That Adrien was also Chat Noir seemed normal by comparison.

 

“Hey, Marinette,” Adrien said shyly around a spoonful of cereal as she sat down across from him at the table. “I don’t know if your parents explained…”

 

“Oh yeah, no big deal, my mom told me,” Marinette said, reaching for the box of cereal and nearly knocking over the milk bottle in the process. She caught it with her other hand and shrugged, pouring cereal into the bowl her mom had set out for her. “You needed somewhere to stay, Ladybug brought you here, and now you’re in my shorts.” The cereal spilled all over the table. “Kitchen!” she corrected herself frantically. “You’re in my kitchen. Wearing my shorts.”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Adrien replied. He shrugged, and the too-large t-shirt slipped off of one shoulder. Marinette became incredibly preoccupied with gathering up the spilled bran flakes. “I didn’t get a chance to pack a bag or anything.”

 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Marinette said as casually as she could. She reached for the milk, and poured it very carefully. Success. Internally, she gave a sigh of relief. She needed to get over these ridiculous jitters around Adrien, now that she knew he was Chat Noir. She couldn’t act like this if they had to fight an akuma…

 

They ate in awkward silence for a moment. Marinette realized that as far as Adrien knew, she should have no idea why he couldn’t stay at his own house, and he probably expected her to be more curious about it. But would he actually want to talk about it with her? Well, with her as Marinette. Obviously he had wanted to talk about it with her as Ladybug. But then, he must have asked to stay with Marinette instead of Nino or Chloe for a reason.

 

“So, whatever’s going on with you at home,” Marinette began tentatively. Adrien’s eyes darted to one side as if looking for an explanation. Marinette went on before he could say anything. “You don’t have to tell me, if it’s personal,” she assured him. “But I hope you and Ladybug can work it out soon.”

 

“Thanks, Marinette,” Adrien said. “I hope so, too. I don’t want to impose on you and your parents any longer than I have to.”

 

“It’s no imposition,” Marinette’s mother cut in as she came upstairs from the bakery. “We’re happy to have you here. But you two need to start getting ready for school.”

 

Right. School. With everything that had happened last night, Marinette had forgotten all about it. It looked like their visit to Master Fu might have to wait.

 

Adrien must have been thinking something similar. “Um, Ladybug said she was going to stop by this morning,” he said.

 

“She’ll probably be here soon,” Marinette said, standing up, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Anyway, Mom’s right, I’m gonna go get ready,” she said hurriedly, dumping her empty cereal bowl in the sink and heading for the ladder to her room. “See you in a bit!”

 

When she was safely in her room, she sank to the floor, leaning against her bed. Tikki popped out of her hiding place underneath the pillow. “I’m not sure letting Adrien stay here was such a good idea, Marinette,” the kwami said. “If he’s living in close quarters, he’s bound to notice something’s up with you and Ladybug eventually.”

 

 _Living in close quarters._ Marinette groaned and hid her face in her hands. “You’re right, Tikki. This is terrible! I can barely have an intelligent conversation with Adrien, and now I’m supposed to work with him as Ladybug, knowing he’s Chat Noir, and also talk to him as Marinette, who’s _not_ supposed to know he’s Chat Noir, but secretly does, all while he’s living at Marinette’s house and sleeping in Marinette’s gym shorts?”

 

“You’re talking about yourself in the third person,” Tikki pointed out with concern.

 

“I get why he said it was a relief to tell me his identity,” Marinette said, tugging anxiously at one of her pigtails. “It would be so much simpler right now if he knew mine, too.”

 

“It would still be a big risk,” Tikki cautioned. “Especially now that we know his father is Hawk Moth.”

 

“Adrien would never betray us,” Marinette said, crossing her arms defensively. “Not even to his father.” If he were going to, he wouldn’t have come to her right away when his father’s secret was revealed. He wouldn’t have told her everything.

 

“Maybe not intentionally,” Tikki agreed. “But his father could still find out, if he knew. He figured out Adrien was Chat Noir somehow.”

 

That did raise another uncomfortable question. “You don’t think Adrien’s dad is...spying on him or something?”

 

Tikki spread her little arms wide, the kwami equivalent of a shrug. “Would you put it past Hawk Moth to spy on his son?”

 

“I guess not,” Marinette admitted. Poor Adrien. His dad was the only family he had… She got to her feet with renewed resolve. “But at any rate, Ladybug still has to make an appearance,” she said. “Tikki, spots on!”

 

* * *

 

Ladybug carefully snuck out through the balcony, swung down to the street level, and came back in through the bakery, where she found her father setting out a batch of freshly made croissants. “Good morning, Mr. Dupain,” she greeted him politely. “I need to speak to Adrien.”

 

“Of course,” her father replied. “I’ll just go get him.”

 

As her father hurried upstairs, Ladybug took a moment to be thankful that her own family was so free from drama. Sure, keeping up a secret identity could be difficult at times, but her parents were both around and supportive. She couldn’t imagine how Adrien was getting by.

 

The boy in question darted down the stairs, grinning like sunshine in spite of everything, and thankfully wearing his own clothes again. “Ladybug!” he said happily. “It’s good to see you!”

 

“Let’s talk somewhere more private,” Ladybug said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the bakery. She nearly walked smack into the glass door, remembering at the last minute to push it open ahead of her. She really needed to get it together. With more of her typical self-assurance, she swung her yo-yo and grappled both of them up onto the roof of the building next door.

 

“I know we said we would talk to Master Fu this morning,” Adrien said as soon as his feet touched down on the roof, with Ladybug’s arm still around his waist. “But I forgot about school.”

 

“Yeah, I did, too,” Ladybug replied. Realizing their proximity, she hastily let him go and retreated back a step. “Forgot we had school, that is,” she clarified. “I mean, you have school and so do I. I also go to a school, that’s no secret.” A voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Alya warned her to quit while she was ahead, and Ladybug clamped her mouth shut firmly.

 

“I know it seems crazy with everything happening,” Adrien said, unfazed. “But I’d like to have as much of a normal day as I can.” He shoved both hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Do you think Master Fu could wait until this afternoon?”

 

To be honest, Ladybug would appreciate a little extra time to sort things out in her own head before they went to see the Guardian. But she wasn’t going to procrastinate for that reason alone. “I don’t know,” she said uncertainly. “Isn’t your father going to be worried about the fact that you didn’t come home last night? Do you think he’ll...do something?” She didn’t have to say what he might do.

 

“I don’t think he will,” Adrien said, shaking his head and shoving his hands further into his pockets. “At least not right away. He’s still giving me my chance to get your miraculous, remember?”

 

Right. As far as Hawk Moth knew, Adrien was still a potential double agent. Good thing she knew him better than his father did.

 

“That does buy us some time,” Ladybug agreed. “We shouldn’t push it, though. I’ll come back here to get you this afternoon.” She folded her arms, thinking for a moment. “And maybe you should...check in with your father? Just tell him you stayed over with a friend last night, no details.”

 

Adrien sighed reluctantly. “You’re probably right,” he said. He didn’t look very happy about the idea of talking to his father, though. Understandable.

 

“I’ll leave you to that, then,” Ladybug said. He could get himself down from the roof one way or another, and she still needed to sneak back into her room and get dressed for school. She’d have to go some distance out of her way, though, so Adrien wouldn’t realize where she was going. Tikki hadn’t been wrong about this arrangement being risky.

 

She took one last look back at Adrien before she left. He had his phone out, and was staring at his father’s contact info on the screen, brows furrowed. He looked nervous. “Hey, Kitty Cat,” she called, hoping the nickname would at least get a smile out of him again. It did, and her stomach fluttered. “You got this,” she told him. Then she swung to the next roof before she could do or say anything else stupid.

 

* * *

 

By the time Marinette came back downstairs ready for school, a silver car had pulled up to the curb in front of the bakery, and Adrien was engaged in an argument with his father’s assistant. “He said he trusted me,” Adrien was complaining to her as Marinette and her father came outside.

 

“Is there a problem, Adrien?” Marinette’s father asked carefully.

 

Nathalie answered before Adrien could. “Mr. Agreste sent me to make sure his son was safe,” she explained. “Given that Adrien never came home last night, and no one felt the need to inform his father of his whereabouts until this morning, you can understand how worried he would be.”

 

“Not worried enough to come get me himself,” Adrien muttered darkly. Marinette couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, even though Hawk Moth showing up at her house was really the last thing they wanted.

 

“Ladybug asked us to look after him,” Marinette’s father replied, placing a hand protectively on Adrien’s shoulder. Adrien started at the gesture. “You can reassure Mr. Agreste that we are doing just that.”

 

“I don’t see why Adrien should need your protection,” Nathalie said.

 

“I’m sure you don’t,” Marinette’s father shot back. “But until Ladybug says he is in no more danger, we will continue to do what she asked of us.”

 

Nathalie stared at Marinette’s father impassively for a moment, before returning her attention to the boy in question. “Do you feel the same way, Adrien?” she asked.

 

Adrien raised his chin defiantly. “Yes,” he said.

 

Nathalie was unfazed. “Your father thought you might,” she said as neutrally as ever. Opening the door of the car, she reached into the back seat and pulled out Adrien’s school bag, as well as a green duffel bag that Marinette recognized as the one he usually used for his fencing gear. “You’ll at least want these,” she said, holding them out to Adrien.

 

Adrien blinked in surprise as he took his things from her. “My father’s really going to let me stay here?”

 

“For now,” Nathalie replied ominously. “As long as you call to check in with him at least once a day, he will allow it. As you said, he trusts you.” She shut the car door, and walked around to the driver’s side. Before she got in, she looked back at Adrien pointedly. “Don’t forget what he is trusting you to do.”

 

Adrien scowled at the car as it drove away, but then shook his head and looked up at Marinette’s father with a grateful smile. “Thank you, sir,” he said, without elaborating.

 

“Of course,” her father said, giving Adrien’s shoulder a final pat before letting his hand fall. “Now go on, both of you, don’t be late for school.”

 

Marinette kissed her father goodbye, and she and Adrien headed down the block. “Did you tell your dad where you were?” Marinette asked cautiously after a moment of walking in silence. She’d told him to leave out any specific details. Was he having trouble keeping things from his father now?

 

“No,” Adrien replied sadly. “He probably traced my phone.”

 

So Adrien’s father did spy on him. Tikki had been right about that, too. The arguments for not telling him her own secret identity were mounting.

 

“It doesn’t seem like he trusts you that much,” Marinette observed, then winced at how insensitive it sounded. “I mean, I’m sure he is worried about you, but he’s got a funny way of showing it.” Not an improvement. Why did she even try.

 

Adrien shook his head. “I’m starting to wonder if he even knows what trust means.”

 

Marinette didn’t know what to say to that, and didn’t want to risk putting her foot in her mouth yet again, so they lapsed back into silence.

 

When they met Alya in front of the school not long after, she raised an eyebrow to see Adrien with Marinette, but at Marinette’s pointed look didn’t say anything. It was actually a relief to have another person with them - it made it easier for Marinette to pretend this was just a normal day, like Adrien wanted it to be, and they were just three classmates on their way to first period with nothing more than last night’s algebra homework to worry about.

 

* * *

 

That was how the rest of the day went, more or less. Chloe got on everyone’s nerves. Ms. Mendeleiev gave too much homework. Marinette was perpetually distracted with thoughts of Adrien, which wasn’t out of the ordinary on the face of it. He and Nino ate lunch with her and Alya, and Marinette managed not to spill anything or say anything too ridiculous, though she did bite her own tongue painfully, by accident.

 

Tikki kept giving Marinette pointed looks from the depths of her school bag, but at no point did Marinette acknowledge it. She still felt guilty about keeping her identity from Adrien, even though he’d told her not to. Yet she had to admit that Tikki was right about the risks of telling him. She would have a hard enough time working with Chat Noir now that she could no longer trust herself not to act like a fool around him. She didn’t need to worry about him letting Hawk Moth discover her identity, too, however inadvertently.

 

At the end of the day, Adrien had a fencing match, and Marinette stuck around to watch, which wasn’t that unusual, either. She figured she’d walk him home as herself, make some excuse to step out for a bit, and then come back as Ladybug to bring him to Master Fu. The thought of walking home with Adrien did fill her stomach with butterflies, but she was even more nervous about how their meeting with the Guardian would go. Would Master Fu be upset with Adrien for revealing his identity to her? She hoped not. She also hoped he wouldn’t regret choosing to give the miraculous to Adrien, once he found out he was Hawk Moth’s son.

 

A terrible thought occurred to her as she watched Adrien put on his fencing mask and prepare to face his last opponent of the day. What if Master Fu decided to take Adrien’s miraculous away from him? He clearly loved being Chat Noir. To lose that, on top of everything else...what would that do to him?

 

Adrien, at least, didn’t seem distracted by such weighty considerations. He was totally focused, and won his final bout with ease. He removed his mask, revealing a satisfied smile at his victory. But instead of making her feel like her insides had turned to goo, the sight gave Marinette a firm feeling of justice. Adrien deserved to be happy at something, after everything he’d been through.

 

It suddenly occurred to her how ridiculous it was for her to be nervous around Chat Noir, now that she knew he was Adrien. If anything, she should be more confident around Adrien, now that she knew he was Chat Noir. He hadn’t changed. He was her partner, she could always rely on him, and the fact that he was also her friend whom she loved made that better, not worse. And whoever his father was, she knew he was trustworthy. He’d already proved that last night.

 

Marinette joined the crowd of their classmates gathering around Adrien to congratulate him. “Another signature Agreste triumph,” Nino said, clapping him on the back.

 

“Great job, Adrien!” Rose said sweetly.

 

“Yeah,” Marinette agreed, looking Adrien right in the eye without a hint of bashfulness. “Those were some smooth moves, Kitty Cat.”

 

Adrien’s mouth dropped open. Marinette clapped a hand over her mouth. Alya sighed, exasperated but sympathetic. Rose stifled a giggle, and even Nino looked like he was trying not to laugh. Another signature Dupain-Cheng disaster.

 

“Did you just call me…” Adrien said, green eyes wide with disbelief.

 

“Pfft, no!” Marinette denied pointlessly. “Why would I call you that! Nobody calls you that! Or nobody I know of anyway, maybe someone does, I don’t know everything about your life!”

 

“Alright, Marinette,” Alya intervened, looping her arm around her friend’s and dragging her away. “Put down the shovel, girl,” she whispered.

 

“I should just never speak again,” Marinette whined. She could still feel Adrien staring at her as Alya led her out of the courtyard. He had to have realized what the nickname meant. “I’m taking a vow of silence.”

 

“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Alya replied. She shook her head as they made their way down the steps in front of the school. “Kitty Cat? Really?” she asked. “What on earth possessed you to call him that?”

 

Marinette shook her head, refusing to answer. Vow of silence, starting right now. It was best for everyone.

 

“Okay,” Alya relented. “I’ve got to get home. Text me later, O Silent One.” She walked a few paces, then turned back to Marinette. “It really wasn’t that bad,” she said reassuringly. “I think you’re overreacting.”

 

Oh, she had no idea.

 

Marinette sat down at the bottom of the steps to contemplate her misery. She gave half-hearted and stubbornly silent waves to Rose and Nino and the others as they left. Finally, Adrien himself emerged, his gym bag slung over one shoulder. Marinette looked up at him, and he stood perfectly still at the top of the stairs, staring back down at her. The whole world seemed to hold its breath.

 

Adrien broke the spell first, making his way down the stairs and sitting next to her. “So,” he said softly, looking out at the street rather than at her. “Kitty Cat. There’s only one person who calls me that.” He turned to face her. “And I’m starting to think the last couple days have been almost as weird for her as they have been for me.”

 

Marinette fidgeted with one earring. “I’ve been thinking about telling you all day,” she said, breaking her vow of silence. Alya was right, it hadn’t lasted long.

 

Adrien laughed nervously. “You sure picked an interesting way to do it.” He was blushing again. Great, now they were both going to be awkward around each other.

 

“That, uh, wasn’t how I wanted it to happen,” Marinette admitted, pressing both hands to the sides of her face and squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment. If the earth just opened up beneath her and swallowed her whole right now, that would be fine.

 

“Yeah, I figured,” she heard Adrien say. “It just slipped out, right? I’ve almost done the same thing, actually.”

 

“Really?” she asked in surprise, opening her eyes again. Adrien was staring sheepishly at the sidewalk now. She tried to mentally run through all the times they’d interacted as Marinette and Chat Noir, or Ladybug and Adrien, but she couldn’t remember a single thing he’d said that had been out of place. “When was that?”

 

“When you caught me, that time I jumped off the Montparnasse Tower,” Adrien explained. The time he had jumped off a building because she told him to, because he trusted her. “I almost called you…” But whatever nickname he had nearly let slip then, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to say it now. “I was surprised you didn’t notice, actually,” he finished instead.

 

Marinette let her hands drop from her face, wringing them in her lap instead. “I guess there’s a lot of things I never noticed.”

 

“Yeah, me too,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, we have no more secrets now, right?” He looked up at her tentatively again, still blushing and shy, and even like that, even knowing who he was and how he felt about her, she couldn’t find the words to tell him the one last important thing she was keeping in her heart.

 

“Right,” she lied. “No more secrets.” Wow, she was a terrible person, and it was a wonder she didn’t get struck by a bolt of lightning right then and there. She cleared her throat, checked her watch, and got to her feet. “We should go see Master Fu, before it gets any later.”

 

Adrien looked up at her as if he was going to say something else, but then nodded and stood as well. “After you,” he said, extending his arm to indicate the way with a very Chat Noir grin. “Bugaboo.”

 

Oh, she was definitely not going to survive this.


End file.
